Re: [orca-list] Linux PC as a router

[Steve Holmes <steve holmes88 gmail com>]

Also, many of these machines won't even boot with some of the more
modern distros.  I ran into that problem myself with a couple old
machines I had around here.  An example is my old Slackware 12.0 boots
on it but the Slackware 121.1 and later plus Arch, GRML and others
just won't boot! 

I have used computers as routers before and it was fun.  Definately
don't bother with a GUI for such usage though.  simple shell scripts
can do the network address translation and other router things just
fine.

On Thu, Jun 09, 2011 at 11:24:10PM -0400, Mike Gorse wrote:
> It is certainly possible to turn that sort of computer into a router
> if you know what to do.  If I had an old machine that I only wanted
> to use as a router, then I probably wouldn't bother putting a GUI on
> it and might install grml or gentoo and set it up to do what I
> wanted (I believe both of those can be installed with Speakup).
> There is a guide online for making a Gentoo system into a router.
> I'd go this route because the system just wouldn't need a GUI,
> unless I wanted it to double as a desktop, but it would require you
> to generally feel comfortable doing things from the command line
> (www.linuxcommand.org might be a good place to start for this).
> Setting up Vinux might also work, but I'm not sure what the memory
> requirements are for installation.  And Orca might be slow--you
> probably have a slow processor by today's standards--but it's hard
> for me to say how well it would work.
>
> A simple router would draw less power and might be easier to set up,
> but, on the other hand, you'd learn a thing or two about the basics
> of system administration on Linux if you set up a router, and it
> might be a good idea if you decide that you want to run a web server
> or generally do anything advanced that you couldn't do with a
> traditional router, so in the end it depends what you want.
>
> -Mike
>
> On Thu, 9 Jun 2011, Richard wrote:
>
> > Hi Glenn,
> >
> > I'd advise you move away from Ubuntu/Debian for the
> > router/firewall. Also, do make sure that the system has 2
> > different NiCS.  A NiC is network interface card or ethernet jack.
> > It will be needed since the router will be pulling double duty.
> > It will be connecting to the outside world with an external IP
> > address and assigning internal IPs to the other systems on your
> > LAN.  It will serve as a dhcp server.  If you decide to go this
> > route, make sure that you have a few 100-1000 mbps network
> > switches if possible.
> >
> > The only 2 packages I've heard of that work for a router/firewall
> > that are usable more or less are Smoothwall and  IPCop.  I'm
> > unsure how friendly the browser interfaces are, but you will need
> > sighted assistance to install either of them.  I'd also advise you
> > upgrade the ram to at least 512 or 768 mb to have either of the
> > packages run well.
> > Why not get an actual router such as a DLink, Linksys, or Netgear?
> > Do you have enough LAN traffic to make it worth turning a pc
> > system into your main router?
> >
> > On 6/9/2011 18:18, Glenn wrote:
> > > Hi All,
> > > I have an old computer that has windows 98 on it now.
> > > I can't remember if it has 128 or 256 MB of RAM, and I am not sure if that
> > > difference will determine which flavor of Debian I run on it.
> > > My plan is to try to make a router out of this old PC.
> > > Although I have a DecTalk external synth that I could use, I
> > > would prefer to
> > > use software speech (orca), at least at first, but not sure if it is
> > > possible given this old of a computer.
> > > I am most familiar with Ubuntu, and that is why I am wondering about Vinux
> > > on this project.
> > > So is Vinux a good way to go, or is there a small package of Ubuntu that
> > > will work?
> > > Also, I'm looking for any ideas on software for turning my PC
> > > into a router,
> > > using packages like Network Manager or whatever is best here.
> > > Thanks.
> > > Glenn
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > orca-list mailing list
> > > orca-list gnome org
> > > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> > > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
> > > The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
> > > The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> > > Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines
> > > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
> > > Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp
> > _______________________________________________
> > orca-list mailing list
> > orca-list gnome org
> > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
> > The manual is at
> > http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
> > The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> > Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines
> > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
> > Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp
> _______________________________________________
> orca-list mailing list
> orca-list gnome org
> http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
> The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
> The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines
> Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
> Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp